Ganga_MDI
Mother Ganga Mandi, c 1650-75 Size: Image 311*184 mm; Sheet 352*225 mm Artist : Unknown Philadelphia Museum of Art “ O Mother! Necklace adorning the world! Banner rising to heaven! I ask that I may leave of this body On your banks Drinking your water, rolling in your waves, Remembering your name, Bestowing my gaze upon you.” These beautiful lines from Ganga Stotra written by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8 th C.E. summarises the ultimate desire of a devout Hindu to breathe his last on the banks of River Ganga for salvation. As Ganga descended from heaven, she is a vehicle of ascent for these very people from earth to heaven. From time immemorial people of this land have travelled to the banks of Ganga to have a dip in the holy water and atone for their sins. They have immersed the ashes of their kith and remembered their ancestors by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it up and letting it fall back into the River with complete submission. On their j